The man who exposed Lance Armstrong's doping lies

By Paul Gittings, CNN

Updated 12:24 PM ET, Mon July 1, 2013

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After denying the allegations for years, cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. As a result, he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and an Olympic bronze medal. Click through the gallery for a look at his life and career.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong, 17, competes in the Jeep Triathlon Grand Prix in 1988. He became a professional triathlete at age 16 and joined the U.S. National Cycling Team two years later.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong wins the 18th stage of the Tour de France in 1995. He finished the race for the first time that year, ending in 36th place.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong rides at the Ikon Ride for the Roses to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation in May 1998. He established the foundation to benefit cancer research after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996. After treatment, he was declared cancer-free in February 1997.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong leads his teammates during the final stage of the 1999 Tour de France.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong takes his honor lap on the Champs-Élysées in Paris after winning the Tour de France for the first time in 1999.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After winning the 2000 Tour de France, Armstrong holds his son Luke on his shoulders.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong rides during the 18th stage of the 2001 Tour de France. He won the tour that year for the third consecutive time.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong celebrates winning the 10th stage of the Tour de France in 2001.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After winning the 2001 Tour de France, Armstrong presents President George W. Bush with a U.S. Postal Service yellow jersey and a replica of the bike he used to win the race.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong celebrates on the podium after winning the Tour de France by 61 seconds in 2003.

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – After his sixth consecutive Tour de France win, Armstrong attends a celebration in his honor in front of the Texas State Capitol in Austin.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong arrives at the 2005 American Music Awards in Los Angeles with then-fiancee Sheryl Crow. The couple never made it down the aisle, splitting up the following year.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong holds up a paper displaying the number seven at the start of the Tour de France in 2005. He went on to win his seventh consecutive Tour de France.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong testifies during a Senate hearing in 2008 on Capitol Hill. The hearing focused on finding a cure for cancer in the 21st century.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – In 2009, Armstrong suffered a broken collarbone after falling during a race in Spain.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Young Armstrong fans write messages on the ground ahead of the 2009 Tour de France. He came in third place that year.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong launches the three-day Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. The event was organized by his foundation.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – In May 2010, Armstrong crashes during the Amgen Tour of California. That same day, he denied allegations of doping made by former teammate Floyd Landis.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong looks back as he rides during the 2010 Tour de France.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong's son Luke; his twin daughters, Isabelle and Grace; and his 1-year-old son, Max, stand outside the Radio Shack team bus on a rest day during the 2010 Tour de France.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong finished 23rd in the 2010 Tour de France. He announced his retirement from the world of professional cycling in February 2011. He said he wanted to devote more time to his family and the fight against cancer.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – The frame of Armstrong's bike is engraved with the names of his four children at the time and the Spanish word for five, "cinco." His fifth child, Olivia, was born in October 2010.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong competes in the 70.3 Ironman Triathlon in Panama City, Florida, in February 2012. He went on to claim two Half Ironman triathlon titles by June of that year.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – Armstrong addresses participants at the Livestrong Challenge Ride on October 21, 2012, days after he stepped down as chairman of his Livestrong cancer charity.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – International Cycling Union President Pat McQuaid announces the decision to strip Armstrong of his seven Tour de France wins and ban him from the tournament for life on October 22, 2012. "Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Lance Armstrong's rise and fall

Lance Armstrong's rise and fall – In January 2013, Armstrong speaks with Oprah Winfrey about the controversy surrounding his cycling career. He admitted, unequivocally and for the first time, that he used performance-enhancing drugs while competing.

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In the aftermath of the 1998 Tour de France -- blighted by doping, with police raiding teams to find illegal products -- cycling had been desperate for a good news story and was prepared, in Walsh's words, to "suspend disbelief."

"It's a story that could take the Tour de France from its knees and put it standing up again and the race organizers embraced that."

As Armstrong's winning run continued -- eventually to total an unprecedented seven Tour wins in a row -- so in Walsh's view the American's web of deceit grew and he alleges others were complicit in the cover up.

Walsh was determined to publish his version of events and when LA (Lance Armstrong) Confidential hit the bookshelves in 2004 and a story based on it was published in the Sunday Times, the libel suits and the threats intensified.

Singled out

Walsh was at an explosive Tour media conference later that year and Armstrong, when inevitably asked about the book, singled him out, as the journalist vividly recalls.

Armstrong said: "Well as the esteemed author is here, I will answer this.

"And then he said 'Extraordinary allegations, no, extraordinary accusations must be followed by extraordinary proof.' Everybody thought that was a great one-liner."

Walsh had based his book on interviews with Betsy Andreu, the wife of cyclist Frankie Andreu, a former teammate of Armstrong, Emma O'Reilly, who had acted as personal masseuse for the now disgraced cyclist, and a former teammate from the 1990's, Steven Swart.

When details of the systematic doping carried out by Armstrong and his team finally emerged in a report by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) in 2012, it vindicated the whistleblowers' stance -- as well as Walsh and his co-author Frenchman Pierre Ballester.

But back in 2004, with Armstrong at the peak of his fame, it was inevitable he would challenge such damaging revelations to protect his reputation.

Libel action

The Sunday Times stood by their man and his story, but when libel action in the UK courts was commenced by the litigious Armstrong, they knew the outcome would probably be in the American's favor.

Walsh recognized the seriousness of the situation, but admitted his judgment became clouded.

"I'm there saying 'Well I don't care, I just want this stuff out there.'

"And I wasn't seeing reason to be honest. I would have been a bit of a nightmare from the legal department's point of view and they were right.

"It did cost the Sunday Times a million pounds, but the newspaper were tremendously supportive as was my sports editor," added Walsh, referring to the out-of-court settlement reached with Armstrong in 2006.

By then the Texan had retired from the sport for the first time, though the rumors would not go away.

Ultimate responsibility

Walsh believes that cycling's governing body -- the International Cycling Union -- bears a heavy responsibility for not cleaning up its own sport in the face of overwhelming evidence of doping, not just by Armstrong but other leading riders.

He is heavily critical of its chiefs past and present, Hein Vergruggen, who resigned in 2005 to be replaced by Pat McQuaid.

"They were the people whose ultimate responsibility it was to ensure that the riders riding clean were protected. They didn't do their job," said Walsh.

"McQuaid said he was very anti-doping, but he didn't want to find out the truth about Lance Armstrong. He wanted basically, to sweep it under the carpet, and in my opinion, his organization now cannot have any credibility as long as he's president."

Walsh's fellow Irishman McQuiad has a different perspective.

"Hindsight is an exact science and hindsight is 20-20 vision," McQuaid told CNN as part of the Changing Gear series. "Of course you would do things differently but that doesn't mean that I regret anything that I did.

"Many, many federations around the world told me that under no circumstances should I contemplate resigning," added McQuaid defiantly.

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First edition – Riders tackle the stage from Toulouse to Bordeaux in the first ever edition of the Tour de France in 1903.

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Pyrenees first – Riders tackle the first Pyrenean climb -- the Col de Portet d'Aspet -- in 1910. France's Octave Lapize was first over the top and won the race. But in 1995 the Col was the scene of tragedy as Italian Fabio Casartelli died after a crash on the descent.

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Alpine hero – Eventual 1911 winner Gustave Garrigou of France in action on a stage in the Alps on the way to his eventual victory.

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War ravaged – The First World War may have finished nearly three years earlier, but the ravages of the conflict were still in evidence as the riders make their way through Mondidier. Belgian Leon Scieur won the race.

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Coming of age – 1927 winner Nicolas Frantz of Luxembourg (right) is congratulated by Andre Leducq. It was the 21st edition and coming of age for the famous race.

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Brilliant Bartali – Legendary Italian rider Gino Bartali rides in splendid isolation on the Col d'Izoard on his way to victory on the 14th stage and his first overall triumph in the iconic classic.

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Epic battle – Roger Lapebie of France claimed his first and only Tour victory in 1937 after Bartali crashed on the eighth stage while in the lead and was forced to retire.

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Ventoux challenge – Riders tackle the infamous Mont Ventoux climb for the first time during the 1951 race.

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Incomparable Coppi – Legendary Italian cyclist Fausto Coppi claimed the Tour de France twice and won the stage to Alpe d'Huez in superb style in 1952 to clinch his second truimph.

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Dutch adventure – The race first went outside of France in the 1954 edition as it visited the Netherlands.

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Ocana agony – Spanish climber Luis Ocana suffered a sickening crash in the 1971 Tour when leading Merckx. He was forced to retire but won the 1973 race.

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Merciless Merckx – Belgian Eddy Merckx dominated the Tour de France and other major cycling races for nearly a decade -- here leading the peloton when riding on the cobbles of the Champs Elysees for the first time in 1975

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The Badger – Famous French cyclist Bernard Hinault on the Puy de Dome in 1978 as he claimed the first of five wins in the famous race.

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Fabulous Fignon – Laurent Fignon continued French domination with back-to-back wins in the 1983 and 1984 editions.

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Roche treble – Stephen Roche needed oxygen after a famous effort on the 21st stage to La Plagne in 1987 -- the year he won the Tour, Giro d'Italia and world championship treble.

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Berlin breakthrough – Colombian rider Luis Herrera at the Berlin Wall in 1987 as the Tour spent three days in the still divided country of Germany that year.

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American revolution – Greg LeMond celebrates his remarkable triumph in the 1989 Tour as he edged out Fignon by just eight seconds having won the final time trial stage into Paris using then revolutionary tri bars.

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Uzbek flyer – Uzbekistan's Djamolidine Abdoujaparov crashes spectacularly as he sprints for the line on the Champs Elysees in 1981. He scraped himself off the asphalt to claim the green points jersey.

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Indurain era – Spain's Miguel Indurain tracks Italian Claudio Chiappucci on a stage in the Pyrenees on the way to the first of five successive Tour wins in 1981 for 'Big Mig'.

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Infamous first – A young Lance Armstrong announces his arrival into the annuls of Tour history by claiming the eighth stage of the 1993 race in Verdun.

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Five timer – Armstrong and his family signal his fifth straight win in the Tour de France in 2003. The Texan was to eventually claim seven titles in a row, but was stripped of them in 2012 after revelations of doping emerged.

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British superstars – 2012 winner Wiggins leads out his Sky teammate and compatriot Mark Cavendish on the Champs Elysees. Sprinting ace Cavendish went on to claim his 23rd stage win on the Tour de France.

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Peloton power – The near 200-strong peloton in the modern Tour de France tackle some of the most picturesque and intimidating terrain during their 3,000km plus journey.

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McQuaid is being challenged for the top job at the UCI by British Cycling's Brian Cookson, and Walsh, while not specifically backing any candidate, is convinced a change is urgently needed.

"I have been saying this since the whole controversy unfolded -- the people who were in charge during this fiasco, shouldn't still be there.

"If cycling could find a credible candidate within its own ranks to take over from Pat, it would immediately change the perception of the UCI and people would say 'You know what? Let's give this new guy a chance.

"And let him reassure us that anti-doping really is going to be the number one item on the agenda."

Ringleader

Armstrong came out of retirement in 2009 to ride for the Astana team and finished third in that year's Tour de France. He raced two more years with Team RadioShack with diminishing success before quitting in early 2011.

By then he was the subject of a U.S. federal investigation into doping allegations and more former teammates, notably Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis, came forward to specifically implicate the Texan as the ringleader.

Once again, Walsh had been ahead of the game, having published From Lance to Landis: Inside the American Doping Controversy at the Tour de France in 2007.

The federal case against Armstrong was eventually dropped, but the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency persisted in its investigations.

Grilling his former teammates and other close connections, the USADA formally charged Armstrong in June 2012 with using illicit performance-enhancing drugs in "the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen."

Walsh, who has won a string of press awards, was finally vindicated as he recounts in his book Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong.

New era

For the first time since 2004, Walsh will cover the Tour de France after Britain's Team Sky Cycling team, who won the Tour last year with Bradley Wiggins, gave the journalist exclusive behind the scenes access to the 2013 race.

"I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm looking forward to it because I feel that the Armstrong era has been dealt with and we can start again," said the Irishman.

"We can start tentatively believing in some of what we see, and that's why I'm back."

Not that Walsh believes the doping culture in cycling has been completely eradicated and points to last year's race where Luxembourg's Frank Schleck fell foul of the testers.

"The one certainty is that Frank Schleck wasn't the only guy who doped in last year's Tour de France," said Walsh. "That's absolutely certain.